Business West: Community Pride Plays into Hampden's Growth

John Flynn is extremely proud of Hampden — so proud he can’t help talking at length about the close-knit atmosphere he claims pervades every section of town.

“The word that best describes Hampden is ‘community’; it’s a place where people care about their neighbors,” said the chair of the Board of Selectmen. “I talk to people all the time who tell me they were surprised to find their neighbors went out of their way to meet them and bring them food when they moved to our town. It still happens here because we are all about community.”

Flynn added that the selectmen feel the same way about Hampden. “We can’t solve everyone’s problems, but each person is treated with respect,” he told BusinessWest.

Doug Boyd agrees. “Hampden is a great community with a lot of small businesses and self-employed people. The governance is very responsive to issues, and since everyone knows everyone else, communication is very easy,” said the co-chair of the Advisory Committee and member of the Community Preservation Committee.

“It’s what makes Hampden different from other cities and towns,” he continued, explaining that, although there has been a fair amount of development and a significant increase in the number of new homes in Hampden over the past 40 years, the town’s population has increased only slightly, and everyone has an equal voice in determining how tax dollars are spent.